


Swipe Right

by AuthorInDistress



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alpha/Omega, Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-07
Updated: 2017-11-07
Packaged: 2019-01-30 19:32:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12659964
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AuthorInDistress/pseuds/AuthorInDistress
Summary: A small tinder-based-au that I was commissioned for :)





	Swipe Right

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Space_Mouse](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Space_Mouse/gifts).



> So yeah, hi, again let me go on my knees and cry for forgiveness! But I hope you like this!
> 
> My final commission for ['simply-nerdy-gal'](http://simply-nerdy-gal.tumblr.com/)!!!

.

* * *

.

**Ace-hi: I'm convinced you aren't sober**

**ShadO: Why can't the Trex pick up an apple from the ground?**

**Ace-hi: I think I know this one**

**Ace-hi: No, sorry. Wrong joke.**

**Ace-hi: Hmmm. Because it's arms are too short?**

**ShadO: No**

**ShadO: Because it's dead :(**

**Ace-hi:**

**Ace-hi: Now I'm convinced you either aren't you or you arn't sober.**

**ShadO: I'm sober! I'm just in a good mood :)**

**Ace-hi: Because youre drunk?**

**ShadO: No! lol**

**ShadO: Because we won our game :DD**

**Ace-hi: Oh really?? Well done!!!  
**

**.**

 

"You look like a creepy Otaku when you smile down at your phone like that," Hinata told him, leaning so close to try and spy on what he was looking at that Kageyama barely had to reach over to hit him on the head, "Ow!" He leant back in his seat, raising an eyebrow, "What? Are you actually looking at anime?"

"No you idiot, shut up," Kageyama cursed under his breath when he accidentally typed out what he'd just said and erased it quickly, writing out his actual answer and sending it, "And order something, I'm starving."

"I thought we were splitting," Hinata frowned.

"We are," His phone buzzed and he immediately went back to texting, not even realising that he'd left his sentence halfway until he felt Hinata's eyes glaring into him, "Uh ... you pick." He offered then, putting his phone down only to hear it buzz again and turning it back around.

Hinata groaned, pushing himself up off of his seat and heading toward the counter to order their meal, "Didn't realise I was the third wheel on a date," He muttered as he passed by Kageyama's seat but he was ignored in favour of a new text message.

It was his own fault that Kageyama had someone to talk to now though anyway, so he'd just have to live with it. It hadn't even been that long that he had been too, which just meant that Hinata was being as dramatic an idiot as he usually was. But at least he'd stopped commenting on Kageyama's _'feeling sorry for himself'_ attitude that he'd ranted about a bunch of times before.

Mostly because, around a month or so ago, Kageyama had gotten a phone call from a guy that he'd been online-dating for a few weeks; right after their first date. He had literally just stepped into his shared flat with Hinata when his phone had rung and he'd seen the name and had locked himself in his room to answer it, both excited and nervous to hear what it could possibly be about, considering the fact that they'd finally seen each other face-to-face only about an hour ago.

The call had been brief however, with the majority of it being his date talking, and Kageyama murmuring a few 'okays' in reply to hearing how he was apparently awkward in person and that the guy just didn't think that they'd be a good match after seeing him. If he'd been honest, a few weeks of talking was nothing but to be dumped after a face-to-face meeting had hit hard anyway, and he'd clearly had it written all over his face because Hinata hadn't even had to ask when he'd come back out.

And then he'd milked it.

The next week or so he'd spent on his newly installed dating apps, swiping left constantly and muttering out-loud about how _'this guy'll probably want me to party with him, I don't do that',_ or _'he's way too good looking, I need to be realistic',_ and so on until eventually Hinata had stopped walking on eggshells around his moping and had thrown a dirty sock at him in frustration.

"Kageyama if you keep staying picky just because of a few bad dates, you'll be alone forever," He'd shouted, turning the volume up on his headphones as he'd studied for his PVE exam, "And when you have 5000 cats in a little old cottage, I'm not visiting you."

Kageyama had glared at him but he hadn't honestly had the heart in it, "I won't have 5000," He'd muttered instead, sliding down the wall that he was leaning on until his chin hit his collarbone. It hadn't been at all comfortable but it had matched his mood and that had been all he'd cared about at that point, "I can't even get _one_ to like me."

"I swear to God, Kageyama, if you don't stop feeling sorry for yourself - " Kageyama's shout of surprise had cut him off however and he'd dropped his stationery box from how fast he'd spun around in his chair, "What? What?! What happened?" He jumped up, scooping his legs up and beneath himself and holding them close to his chest, "Is it a spider?!"

Kageyama had just stared at his phone for a little while longer instead of answering, in pure frustration over what he'd just done, "No," He'd eventually said, "No, I accidentally swiped right on this guy while you were annoying me."

" _I_ was annoying you?" Hinata had said in disbelief, lowering his legs and picking his stuff back up with a huff, "... and that's such a dumb reason to scream anyway, you can just go back and change it."

"No I can't, he _matched_ ," Kageyama'd muttered, his face burning, "Now I have to talk _back_ to him."

"No you _don't_ , you can just say it was a mistake."

Kageyama had stared at him, wide-eyed, "I can't do that!" He'd exclaimed, "I know how that feels!"

"Oh man. I give up with you."

After that, Hinata had just left him to sort it all out himself whilst he'd studied, their usual banter oddly switched as Kageyama had continued to pester him until a dark look had eventually come into his friend's eyes and he'd gotten up to lock himself in his room instead; leaving Kageyama to reply to the _'hi :)'_ that he'd received from his new match.

And that had been how his conversations with **'Ace-hi'** had started, and though he'd blamed Hinata for it for the few days afterward, he'd never felt like he'd clicked with anyone so much as he did now. Which was bad. Whenever he felt this way, something usually happened which meant that they wouldn't work and he'd have to start all over again or just go with Hinata's 5000 cats theory; so he was trying to be less excited about every new message that he got.

The only issue was that **'Ace-hi'** made that really difficult to do.

 _"How has your day been"_ had soon become _"Oh you play Volleyball too?"_ to them both bonding quickly over the sport until Kageyama had realised that it was really his weak spot, and at that point it had been too late and they'd devolved into nicknaming their _app_ nicknames and typing constantly throughout the day.

.

**ShadO: So how are your classes going after your break?**

**Ace-hi: Ha, well. Professor Demitros still hates me because of our first class, so not so good with him ...**

**ShadO: Just because you asked him to speak up?**

**Ace-hi: Yes!**

**Ace-hi: See the thing with me is that I'm a really polite person Shad. To a fault sometimes.**

**Ace-hi: Actually a lot.**

**Ace-hi: So I asked him POLITELY but he still got angry at me??**

**Ace-hi: And now he'll just never forgive meh**

**Ace-hi: Meh***

**Ace-hi: ME***

**ShadO: Autocorrect?**

**Ace-hi: Yeah I really don't understand it. Why is meh more common than me?**

**ShadO: I blame western people.  
**

**Ace-hi:**

 

**.**

 

"You know I feel super excluded when you do that."

Kageyama startled, almost dropping his phone and glancing up to see Hinata staring at him; unimpressed. He hadn't even noticed him come back with their pizza and judging from the slices in Hinata's plate, he'd zoned out a lot more than that too.

"Oh. Sorry," He winced, tapping out something on his messages quickly, "Let me just say bye."

"No don't let me get in the way of your flirting," Hinata sighed, "I'll just talk to myself for the rest of the evening and eat this pizza alone."

"Shut up Hinata," Kageyama murmured as Ace-Hi sent him a 'bye' in reply to his quick excuse to leave for a while, "You're the one who wanted me to stop feeling sorry for myself." He tugged on a slice of pizza, pulling it onto his plate, "And I don't _flirt_."

"You do." Hinata countered, "I've seen some of your messages, you sound like a teenage omega."

Kageyama opened his mouth to retort but one of the waiters started to come over so he settled with giving him a kick him under the table.

"Hi guys, everything alright?" The waiter asked, smiling at Hinata's nods, "Great! Well I'm just here to let you know that it's 5 minutes until happy hour and we've got some great deals today."

"Oh," Hinata smiled, "Cool."

"We also do Couple deals as well, 2-for-1 and so on, if you want to take a look?"

"Oh, ah. We - we're not - " Kageyama started, feeling his face warm in it's usual immediate reaction to embarrassment.

"We're not together," Hinata finished, his face a similar shade to whatever Kageyama's had probably now become, "We're, um. We're just friends."

The waiter blushed herself then, putting her hands out in apology, "Oh I'm so sorry, I just assumed," She put the leaflet that had been in her hand down on the table, "Um. You could still order one of the deals anyway, it wouldn't matter, I can do it as an apology."

"It's okay, I don't drink," Kageyama told her, looking at Hinata to urge him to say something and make her go away, "But we'll look at the other deals before we go."

"Okay sure," She smiled again, any evidence of her embarrassment already faded from her skin as she went for the next table.

Hinata watched her go before kicking Kageyama back, jostling the table between them, "This is why you shouldn't be on your phone all the time." He hissed.

"What?" Kageyama kicked him again, "What does that have to do with anything?"

"It's what typical omegas do when they're out with their alphas," Hinata told him, "Which makes you a typical omega." Kageyama kicked him a third time, harder this time, "Hey, _ow._ I'm joking, I knew it would make you angry!"

"Yeah well it did." Kageyama scoffed, rolling his eyes, "If you don't want me angry don't try to make me - " He cut himself off when his phone started ringing and the way Hinata's face suddenly fell made him feel incredibly guilty for how often he'd been ignoring him in favour of a guy he'd never actually met.

And if he was honest, Ace-Hi wasn't really his type anyway, when he'd first started talking he'd had no idea why he hadn't just made some stupid but realistic excuse and unmatched. He guessed that it was because he realised how much they clicked.

"Let me just check." Kageyama offered softly, turning his phone over to see the screen, "Oh, it's just my mum."

"Oh," Hinata immediately checked the time on his own phone then, "It is late. You haven't called to say you're at the flat."

Kageyama frowned, answering the call, "I'm 21 years old, I shouldn't have to," He put the phone to his ear, waiting to hear his mother greet him first before talking, "Hi mama. Hi- yes I'm fine. I promise." He sighed, putting his share of the money on the table and gesturing with his eyes that Hinata go and pay their bill so that they could leave and put his mother's mind at rest, "We just went out for food to celebrate winning our game, that's all. I'm heading home now."

Saying that he was 21 out-loud, even to his mother during their calls, never seemed to make a difference in anyone's eyes no matter what he did. He'd unfortunately never grown out of the awkwardness that he'd had since he was 15 and it showed whenever he spoke to strangers in person. He'd known Hinata for so many years now that he was comfortable with him and had matured with him but he still had that old childish mindset that no one else could break into that with him.

He also had a slight baby-face and though he'd changed his hairstyle numerous times throughout his life, nothing ever seemed to work with him and he'd ended up cutting it as short as he'd had it during his highschool days. The only thing he really had on his side was his height but when he took his car keys out of his pocket and walked out with Hinata toward the car-park, two of the waiters still looked surprised to see that he was going to drive.

"Mama, I'm driving now, I have to hang up," He said as he slid into his seat and turned the engine on, "I'll call you back at the flat, okay?" She agreed and he turned the phone off to pull his seatbelt on.

"You didn't tell her about your alpha," Hinata commented, pulling his own seat-belt on too.

"I don't have one," Kageyama said, focusing more on trying to squeeze past a badly parked car besides him that on answering properly.

"Ace-hi doesn't count?"

"No," He switched his lights to full beam once they were away from the fully-lit parking lot and onto the dark country-lane that led toward the residential area, "If we haven't met in person, they don't count."

"You told her about the last one," Hinata reminded him, leaning back in his seat.

"Stop eavesdropping on my conversations," Kageyama snapped at him half-heartedly, "And yes, I did. And I also had to tell her that it hadn't worked out a _week_ later."

"So what, you're just not going to mention Ace-hi at all?"

Kageyama turned into their road, taking out the ticket for their flats' underground parking and slotting it into the machine on their way in, "Not until we meet face-to-face."

"And are you gonna?"

"Stop pestering me about this, why am I being interrogated?"

Hinata laughed, "I'm not interrogating you," He waited until they'd parked before taking his seatbelt off and turning in his seat to face Kageyama head-on, "I'm just asking because you're my friend and I care about you." He ran a hand through his hair, forgetting that he'd tied the top half of it back in a half-done ponytail and messing it up accidentally, "I mean. He's not exactly the usual kind of alpha you talk to."

Despite the fact that he'd thought it himself, Kageyama felt a wave of defensiveness come over him, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Hinata blinked, "Nothing?" He pulled his hairband free, his hair puffing out in curls that he'd never really grown out of, "Just that ... he's not really your type? I mean he's - there was - Kageyama the dude looks thirty!"

Kageyama rolled his eyes, holding a finger up, "One; I'm 21, dating a 30 year old isn't that bad," Hinata made a face, watching as he held a second finger up, "Okay fine, but _two_ ; he's not even 30, he's 25, and _three,"_ He shoved three of his fingers in Hinata's face, "Even if he was 30, why does that mean he's not my type? So if an alpha's old, I shouldn't date them?"

"Well if they're seventy, yeah."

"Yeah well he's not seventy is he, dumbass," Kageyama muttered, leaning back to give him a look, "... I thought you wanted me to date someone," He added after a small moment of silence between them and Hinata shrugged.

"Not really. I just wanted you to stop moping and feeling sorry for yourself," Kageyama's ears burned at the reminder of how pathetically he'd been acting and he glared at him, "And I don't want you to go back to that when you realise Ace-hi's not your type and you're alone again.

"Because I'd annoy you?" He tried to sound angry but something in his chest felt tight and it ended up morphing his voice into something small and uncertain.

Hinata put both his hands up immediately, "No you idiot, because you'll be _upset_ again, and I don't want you to be." He rolled his eyes, "I'm talking about you here, not me. Do you like this guy?"

Kageyama paused, chewing on his lip, "Not sure."

"Okay bad question, you like this guy," Hinata said, "You text him literally every 5 seconds and you smile like a creep at your phone when you do, you like him." He shifted backward, "Don't hit me, I'm not being rude I'm just being honest."

"I don't smile like a creep."

"Anyone smiling at their phone is a creep."

 _"You_ smile at your phone!"

"Yeah, so I'm a creep."

Kageyama squinted at him, annoyed that he couldn't think of a response to that when Hinata had insulted himself already, but he was continued over anyway.

"So you like him. And if it goes bad, you'll be really upset again, so I kinda think that maybe you should just take a break from dating for a while." He opened the door to hop out of the car, "I know you say it was my fault that you swiped and blah blah, blame me, whatever, but you've been polite long enough don't you think?"

He had been. He'd had more than enough time and he could always turn Ace-hi down gently, saying that they could still chat as friends because he really did enjoy chatting with him. But then, he also liked how he looked too. He hadn't at first, he'd been put off by the slight scruff on Ace-hi's chin but then it had grown on him after a while and he sort of liked it now.

He'd also gotten a little wary when Ace-hi had agreed to everything that he'd said; about how he didn't like parties, how he preferred quiet places to social where he could do his own thing in private, how he was a little shy and was polite and how they both played volleyball ... but then he'd realised that that had all been true because Ace-hi had never tripped up in a lie and he could always back things up and so on. He'd also said things that Kageyama had understood wholeheartedly, just because he'd felt that way before too.

And all that had let him know that he really _did_ agree to everything and that they had more in common than the app had revealed.

"I guess ... " He pulled his phone out of his pocket, remembering that he had to call his mother back when he saw the call log pop up, but swiping off of it in favour of his messages. He'd told Ace-hi that he'd prefer to not be disturbed whilst he was out with a friend, and unlike a few other online alpha's he'd spoken to, he was respecting that and hadn't messaged at all since the restaurant.

The passenger's car-door suddenly clicked shut loudly and he startled, snapping his head up to see Hinata looking at him seriously, "Ask to meet him in person."

"What?"

"Ask to meet him." Hinata repeated, "In person." He gestured to the phone, "Before you get too hung up on this guy, meet him face-to-face."

"I thought you wanted me to stop talking to him."

"Yeah but," Hinata shrugged again, "Kageyama. You really like him, okay."

Kageyama glanced back down at his phone, at the emoji's Ace-hi had sent him, and sighing, "I know."

.

* * *

.

"Get a scarf."

Kageyama frowned, "But it's not that cold."

Hinata shook his head, raising a hand as he stood up to open Kageyama's underwear drawer, realising that he was in the wrong place and slamming it shut, before opening the drawer beneath it and pulling out a soft maroon scarf; tossing it toward him, "Wear it. You look super cute in scarves."

Kageyama blinked, holding the material in both hands, "I do?"

Hinata nodded, "Yeah you do this thing where you lower your face into it when you're embarrassed," He said, his voice rising into the tone that he usually had whenever he was teasing someone, "Like a little kid!"

Kageyama blanched, launching the scarf into Hinata's face, "I don't want to be that kind of cute!" He protested angrily, crossing his arms across his chest.

"No no," Hinata quickly picked the scarf up, "It's super cute, trust me!" He waved the material around as he spoke, gesticulating, "You did it once when we were shopping and that guy asked if we wanted to try a sample of his music and stuff and he complimented you? Remember?"

Kageyama frowned at him. Of course he remembered, it wasn't as though that sort of thing happened a lot to him.

Hinata wrapped the scarf around his own neck, putting his hands in the pockets of his hoody, "And then you just kinda did this," And he hunched his shoulders, burying his face into the scarf until only the bridge of his nose and his eyes were showing, "And you were bright red," He added, his voice now muffled. Kageyama walked toward him and snatched the scarf away, "It was super cute, okay, so take the scarf."

"No."

"Oh come on, Kageyama, you asked me for help."

"Yes, but you're just being an idiot," He lifted his phone, glancing down at the time to see how long he had to get ready. Ace-hi had agreed to meet after they'd spoken about it in the chats, saying that they'd meet at a coffee shop and see how things are face-to-face. Despite knowing what each other looked like, Kageyama was nervous to see how Ace-hi was in person and whether or not this 'thing' that they had would last after a first date.

It never really did with him and he was close to tearing his hair out as he decided what to wear. The picture of him on the app was vague, and it had him sitting in his running gear against a tree, with half his face covered by a cropped out Hinata; who had been dying over his shoulder from exhaustion. It didn't really show what he looked like properly, with the sunlight making him look holy, so maybe that was why face-to-face meetings never went well.

One guy thought he'd had longer hair but it had been a shadow in the photo and he'd said he preferred omega's with long hair and hadn't wanted to talk anymore, and another hadn't explicitly said it but he had said that Kageyama didn't look like _'he'd expected'_ which had hit his self-esteem for a long while. And if he was honest, it still sat in the back of his mind.

So now, he was just hoping that Ace-hi hadn't been expecting much in regards to the picture that he'd already seen. In comparison, Ace-hi's picture showed his full face and body, and was of him in Thailand for a holiday. He was wearing a wetsuit and had his hair tied in a bun, smiling into the camera with the sun behind him. It was an amazing picture and he felt dumb besides it. He'd never even left Japan himself.

"What if I wear what I'm wearing in the picture? Then he'll definitely know it's me and he'll see that I haven't lied about how I look or anything?"

Hinata opened his mouth to answer before suddenly sitting down and typing something on his phone. A few seconds later, he looked back up and said, "Yachi says no to the running gear. It's too cold for it and you shouldn't wear it for a date anyway."

Kageyama sat besides him, "You told Yachi?"

"I told her you asked for help and that I was panicking." Hinata answered, showing him the phone, "She also says to wear the black jumper you wore to her birthday."

Kageyama pressed his lips together, thinking, before standing to root through his wardrobe. He pulled out a woven black sweater and held it up. "This one?"

Hinata took a picture of it and then nodded a second later, "Yep. That's the one." His phone chimed and he added, "Wear it with your blue jeans and a beanie." He smirked as he looked up then, "Beanie's are cute too."

Kageyama just gave him a look, "I'm only going to because I trust Yachi's opinion more than yours."

"Hey!" Hinata protested, "I'm dropping you off, be nice."

"You _made_ me agree to that," Kageyama countered, snorting, "I can drive myself."

"No!" Hinata stood so quickly, Kageyama had to back up, "He could be a killer or something and we've never been to the coffee shop he suggested. I'm dropping you off."

Kageyama raised an eyebrow, though internally he was warmed at how caring Hinata could be, "Be nice then." He said instead of thanking him, however and Hinata stuck his tongue out at him as he left the room to let him change.

He wore the sweater and jeans that Yachi had suggested and combed his hair down before putting a dark blue beanie over it. He then looked at himself in the mirror, felt his face start to burn from both fear and anticipation, and left the room himself before he could text Ace-hi to cancel.

"Okay, let's go," He told Hinata, walking past him toward the front door. Hinata didn't move, "Hinata. _Let's go."_ He repeated and Hinata finally looked up.

"You've still got 40 minutes yet." He said, "It takes 10 minutes to get there, do you want to just drive around for half an hour before?"

 _"Yes,"_ Kageyama said, "I need to leave now or I'll freak out just sitting in here and waiting." Hinata still didn't move but a single jerking motion toward him had him springing up and off of the sofa.

"Okay, okay, let's go." He grabbed his keys, toeing his shoes on and following Kageyama out of the door.

.

As it turned out, because it was November and everyone was Christmas shopping already, it took them 25 minutes to get to the shop through the traffic and when they arrived, Kageyama peered through the window and saw Ace-hi sitting inside.

"He's already here," He said chewing on his bottom lip, "Is that weird?"

Hinata pulled his car into a 'no-parking-zone', looking out the window as well, "... I think he just wanted to avoid the traffic too." He said before wincing as he was beeped at, "I need to move out of here, get out," He told Kageyama, "The coffee shop is cool, I have the address, and he doesn't look too weird. But if anything happens, call me quickly or text if you can't and I'll come get you."

Kageyama smiled at him, "Okay," He waved Hinata off as he stepped away from the curb, and took a deep breath to prepare himself for meeting Ace-hi for the first time.

He turned toward the coffee shop, before jumping out of his skin at the sound of a horn and spinning around to see Hinata giving him the thumbs up as he drove away. He shook his head, walking toward the shop again and stepping inside.

It smelt of cinnamon and _warmth_ and he felt the cold practically being blown off of him by the heat from the pastry ovens. He turned toward the seats by the window and saw Ace-hi stand to greet him.

"Shad?" He asked, his voice a lot deeper than Kageyama had expected and he felt a slight thrill run through him as he nodded, "Hi, I'm Ace." He led Kageyama to the seats that he'd taken, gesturing that he can sit opposite, "You want something to drink, I can order for both of us?"

"Um, no, it's okay, I can - " He winced internally, hating how awkward he was with a passion, "I ... I don't actually drink coffee. I should have mentioned that before."

Ace raised his eyebrows, "Really? No coffee at all?"

"No," He slipped his beanie off, praying that his hair wouldn't become static, "I drink tea though."

Ace smiled, "Okay, one tea coming up. Anything special, in it? Some honey?"

Kageyama nodded, "Honey's good."

Ace nodded back and headed to the counter to order. Kageyama watched him before looking around the shop.

He'd never been to this one and he had to admit that he liked it. It had it's own sort of charm and feeling to it and made him think of it as the literal personification of the word _'cosy'._

Ace was back in only a minute, the shop not as busy as branded ones, and he placed a cup of tea in front of Kageyama as he sat down with his own mug of coffee, "So."

Kageyama leant a little forward in his seat, "... so."

Ace smiled again. He had a really nice smile; that wasn't fair. "Should we introduce ourselves?" Kageyama blinked and he quickly corrected himself, "I mean, our real names," He said, "Unless you really are called ShadO?"

Kageyama snorted softly, "No. My name's Kageyama Tobio," He said, throwing out a hand to shake.

Ace looked a little startled at how fast he'd shot it toward him but he recovered and nodded, putting his own hand out. "Nice to meet you, Kageyama," He said, "My real name's Azumane Asahi," He leant back, still smiling, but there was something in his eyes that was wary and Kageyama realised how intensely he'd been staring. He went to apologize but then Ace, or Asahi, continued, "Where did you get ShadO from?"

"Oh," Kageyama lifted his cup with his finger and thumb and blew over the edge, "When I was studying for international games, I found out that my name means Shadow Mountain in english. And the 'O' at the end is just to make it still say 'Shadow' but also because I'm an omega. So 'o'."

Asahi laughed, "Oh, okay. ... there wasn't that much thought behind mine."

Kageyama tilted his head, "What does yours mean?"

Asahi lowered his gaze a little, looking at his coffee instead, "Well like I told you, In every team I play for I become the Ace. So Ace-hi. The 'hi' is just the last part of my name." He smiled bashfully, "I thought it would be a little smug if I just had 'Ace' as my name."

His cheeks were a little pink and for some reason, despite the beard and the height, Kageyama found himself thinking that Asahi was really cute in person. He sat in his own space and didn't force himself into Kageyama's, and he was as shy as he had been when they're first started talking but was also a little comfortable because they did kinda already know each other too. He was also not taking over the conversation as other alphas did and seemed content with Kageyama's short answers.

"I knew the 'Ace' was for volleyball," Kageyama told him, "I just couldn't work out the 'hi'. I thought you were just saying 'I'm an Ace, hi?'"

Asahi stared at him for a second before he was suddenly laughing and after a moment, Kageyama joined him; his own laugh quieter and hidden behind a hand that he held over his mouth, "Okay, I've wanted to say this before, but really. You make me laugh."

Kageyama felt his own cheeks warm now and he lowered his head, realising that he was doing exactly what Hinata said he always did when he was embarrassed, but it was too late by then. At least he wasn't wearing a scarf.

They lapsed into silence after a while, both sipping their drinks and glancing around the shop, and as Kageyama was thinking of something to say he assumed that Asahi was doing the same. Or at least he hoped. He _really_ hoped that Asahi wasn't thinking of how he didn't want to do this, or how things weren't going as planned or how he wanted Kageyama to take initiative and start a conversation, or whatever else he could be thinking right now.

He didn't want to go back to square one and he especially didn't want to be turned down after a face-to-face by someone whose chats he genuinely enjoyed. Maybe he just had to be blunt.

"I'm going to be blunt," He said aloud, and Asahi turned toward him, looking surprised but also alert, "I'm going to tell you stuff and if you don't like it, please tell me now so I know."

He didn't wait for Asahi to say anything before he started and just dived into it, "I don't like long hair." He said, "It doesn't suit me, so I cut it and it'll always be short. It's not a phase, it's my hairstyle. I'm also awkward. I don't look exactly like my picture, it was sunny and there was really good lighting. I prefer texting to calling. I can be intense a lot, especially when I'm trying to get to a certain point, in anything really and I don't like people who don't try. I don't wear make-up, I - well actually I do, but only for parties and weddings and stuff, but I don't go to a lot of those so - "

"Shad, _shad,_ stop," Asahi held a hand up, his face soft, and there was a strand that had fallen out of his bun and was hanging around his left eyebrow and cheekbone that Kageyama really wanted to twist around his finger, "Can I say something back?" Kageyama took a deep breath in, holding it and nodding. "I told you that I'm a polite person, right?" He asked and Kageyama nodded again, "Well that was true but right now, I'm going to be blunt as well and not polite so if anything offends you, I'm sorry."

Kageyama nodded once again, biting on the inside of his lips. Here it comes.

"I hate it when people choose a style that they don't like because someone else told them to. My old setter used to tell me to cut my hair all the time because she thought alphas shouldn't have long hair. She spiked hers with gel a lot and I really don't think that would suit me."

"I like my hair long," He continued, "And if you think short hair suits you, I like that you keep it that way. And it does suit you. Your picture is nice but you can hardly see your face in it and from the parts I did see, you look prettier in person than on the app." Kageyama felt his chest hitch, "I hate calling too, I always try to make an excuse, which is why I never called you and only texted. Also, you talk a lot like you text and I love how you text so why would I mind how you talk? In fact, to still be blunt, I'm a little annoyed that you had to say all that."

Kageyama bit his lip, "It wasn't - "

"I know _why_ you did," Asahi continued though, his face still as soft as he had been when he'd first started talking, "Because other people have said this stuff to you and it's left an impression. I know the feeling. A lot of people have told me that I'm too negative sometimes and that I see the worst side of things, which means I always second-guess before I speak. That's why I'm annoyed you had to say it. Because some stupid people told you all that stuff before and it's stuck with you."

Feeling a lot less like he was going to explode, Kageyama nodded slowly, "I just didn't want to go home and be told the bad stuff afterward."

Asahi smiled, "Then I'll tell you the good stuff now." He said, "I've been talking to you for a little over a month now and I really like you, Shad. ... Kageyama?" Kageyama gestured that he was right about his name, all while his heart was thumping like crazy, "Meeting you face-to-face just meant that I could _say_ that face-to-face. It hasn't changed anything," He leant forward now, his cheeks pink once again, "And I ... _would_ like to see you a lot more too, if you want?"

Kageyama stared at him, watching how the pink became a darker pink and then slowly turned to red, and by that time he realised that he should say something back, "My friend thought you would be a killer." He blurted out and Asahi blinked twice, falling back against his chair as he laughed, "I mean - I'd like to see you again. Because you're not ... a killer."

Asahi's eyes were creased from how hard he was smiling, "Okay. Good. That's good. And yes, I'm not a killer. I think I'd faint at the sight of a body, honestly."

Kageyama snorted, feeling a less stressed and a lot more at ease now that they'd cleared the air and could talk like usual.

Asahi seemed to feel the same too as his shoulders had lowered, meaning that he'd been tense before as well. He reached behind him as Kageyama settled in the chair, pulling free his coat, "Would you like to go for a walk together?"

Kageyama stood with him, pulling on his beanie, "Can we go to the toy store? It has _six_ floors inside and you can design a costume."

Asahi waited for him to pass, opening the door for him and smiling down at him fondly, "We can go wherever you want." He said, "But text your friend so he knows where you are."

Kageyama felt his chest fill with warmth at that, especially from how naturally Asahi had said it, showing that he meant it and wasn't just being a good 'first date'. They walked toward the toy store side-by-side, content with silence, and once they were inside they devolved into the chatting style and browsed around all six floors.

Two months later, Kageyama mentioned Asahi in a phone-call to his mother, still dating one of the sweetest alphas he'd ever had the accident to swipe on.

.

**Author's Note:**

> I like to think Asahi got a little more confident as he grew older and at 25 is still a goof-ball but matured too :)


End file.
